F1 drivers slam ‘terrible’ conditions in chaotic Turkish Grand Prix

Several Formula 1 drivers didn’t mince their words while sharing their honest thoughts on Sunday’s chaotic Turkish Grand Prix.

Several Formula 1 drivers weren’t afraid to share their honest thoughts on Sunday’s chaotic Turkish Grand Prix, which saw Lewis Hamilton secure a seventh consecutive world championship.

Due to a rejig of the 2020 calendar following the coronavirus lockdown, Istanbul Park hosted its first F1 race in nine years on the weekend.

In slippery conditions, Hamilton steamed ahead of his rivals in the final few laps to claim his 10th victory of the season.

It was a topsy-turvy race with drivers regularly spinning out through the 58-lap event, but Hamilton managed to hold his nerve.

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But not everyone enjoyed the unpredictable nature of Sunday’s race, with many drivers voicing their frustration afterwards.

LANCE STROLL

Lance Stroll couldn’t have hoped for a better start to his weekend in Istanbul. The Racing Point driver snared the first pole position of his F1 career, and found himself 10 seconds ahead of the competition halfway through Sunday’s race.

But a second change of tires proved his undoing, tragically slipping from a podium contender to finish in ninth place.

“I don’t know what happened,” Lance told Sky Sports. “I don’t understand.

“We had so much graining on the first set of intermediates – we were losing seconds a lap – but I just don’t know where it came from.

“Massive graining and no pace. We have to look into it, it was pretty terrible today.

“It’s just frustrating when you’re in the lead by 10 seconds and then all of a sudden you finish ninth.”

Lance Stroll of Canada leads Sergio Perez of Mexico.

MAX VERSTAPPEN

After a dreadful start, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen quickly recovered to find himself in contention for a podium finish.

But while battling Racing Point’s Sergio Perez for second place, the Dutch driver dramatically spun off the track, eventually finishing in sixth.

“It is just very frustrating to be honest,” Verstappen told Sky Sports. “I tried to follow (Perez) through that kink and suddenly I just massively washed out and you get on to the green bit.

“It was a big spin. I tried to keep it out of the wall of course and then flat-spotted the tyres.

“After that, you can quickly catch up with the guys, but you can’t pass, as it is just one lap around here. And already that line is very slippery so it is super-frustrating. We had to just wait for people to pit or whatever.

“Just following, no grip, trying to survive, so definitely not a great day. But hopefully we will never be in this situation again that it is so slippery.”

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We had a very difficult race in these tricky conditions and we struggled from the start to the end. It’s a race to forget, to be honest. Congrats to Lewis and his team on an incredible 7th World Championship! 👏 #TurkishGP 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/uq26I2nZn5

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) November 15, 2020

CHARLES LECLERC

Charles Leclerc was on track for his best finish of the 2020 season, when disaster struck on the final lap of Sunday’s race.

Cruising along in second place, the Ferrari driver’s wheels locked up on turn 12, and he was immediately overtaken by Racing Point’s Sergio Perez and teammate Sebastian Vettel.

“I‘m so angry with myself now,” Leclerc told Sky Sports. “I only feel disappointment.

“I cannot afford to do a mistake with three corners until the end, I was fighting for second place and to finish out of the podium because of this mistake feels very bad.

“But congratulations to Seb on the other hand, first podium of the season, it‘s been a very difficult season on his side, and I’m happy he can finally show what he’s worth.”

ALEX ALBON

Apart from his maiden F1 podium at the Tuscan Grand Prix in September, Alex Albon has had a forgettable second season with Red Bull.

And sadly, the Thai driver’s woes continued on Sunday. After a promising start to the race, Albon’s pace fell away on the intermediate tires, eventually finishing in seventh.

“I feel a little bit confused from the race,” Albon said. “From the beginning, our starts were very poor but then we had very good grip and we could make our way through.

“Then, when we boxed for inters, we had incredible grip, and honestly at that point I felt we were in for a win, and I thought everything was going to plan. Then I had a little pirouette but I still felt good and it was a long race and anything could happen.

“But then we put another set of tyres on, the same set of tyres, and we just had no grip and no pace. A lot of head scratching.”

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands leads Alexander Albon of Thailand.

GEORGE RUSSELL

George Russell was particularly frustrated by the low-grip conditions at the Turkish GP, which was primarily due to late resurfacing.

The Williams driver finished in 16th place after an uneventful race at the back of the pack.

“I think everybody was so excited to come here, and from the very first lap in FP1, we just had absolutely no grip,” Russell said.

“The biggest factor, without a shadow for a doubt, was the new resurfacing. From what I hear and I understand, it all had to be done very last minute, and the Turkish corporation or whoever ran the race did a really good job to get everything done in time, and they were delayed by some really poor weather.

“It was like driving on sheet ice, and actually the times I went off the track onto the old concrete, I had much more grip than I did, and the concrete apron in the pit lane, which is normally incredibly slippy compared to the track, had a hell of a lot more grip than the actual racetrack.

“I don’t think a single driver enjoyed these conditions.”

DANIEL RICCIARDO

Approaching the first corner, Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo found himself sandwiched between Lewis Hamilton and teammate Esteban Ocon. The Australian ended up clipping his comrade, which saw both drivers slip back in the field, from which they never recovered.

Ricciardo finished 10th — his worst result since the Spanish Grand Prix in August — while Ocon finished one place behind in 11th.

“We made a great start today, but I was squashed in between Lewis and Esteban into Turn 1, so I had nowhere to go and I clipped my teammate which is the last thing you want to do,” Ricciardo said.

“We lost a couple of positions from the incident and then we switched to the intermediate tyres and we just couldn’t make them last.

“There were moments during the race when I was told I was one of the fastest out there, then just a few laps later my tyres were completely gone so it was all a bit of a lottery.”

— with Andrew McMurtry